


on my own two feet, i will walk away

by archiveofwebs



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, fluff with minor angst, mordechai is a softy, not fandom compliant barnabas bennett, protective lukases, special guests ft. the lukas family, strong independent barnabas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24604771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archiveofwebs/pseuds/archiveofwebs
Summary: “I told you once, twice, thirty times and I will tell you again. I do not care if I’ve gained Jonah Magnus’s “favor”. The man can do as he likes, as long as it doesn’t involve me.”“Barnabas…”Barnabas’s nostrils flare and he jabs a finger at the other man’s chest.“Unlike you, Dr. Fanshawe, I refuse to be another notch on that man’s bedpost. I don’t need his money or his status. I thought we were friends, but for you to come here, to my shop, to what, beg me, to give in to Jonah Magnus? Get out.”
Relationships: Barnabas Bennett/Mordechai Lukas
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	on my own two feet, i will walk away

Barabas glares at the man in front of him, arms crossed over his chest and hipped cocked to rest against the nearby work desk.

“Barnabas…”

“I told you once, twice, thirty times and I will tell you again. I do not care if I’ve gained Jonah Magnus’s “favor”. The man can do as he likes, as long as it doesn’t involve me.”

“Barnabas…”

Barnabas’s nostrils flare and he jabs a finger at the other man’s chest. 

“Unlike you, Dr. Fanshawe, I refuse to be another notch on that man’s bedpost. I don’t need his money or his status. I thought we were friends, but for you to come here, to my shop, to what, beg me, to give in to Jonah Magnus? Get out.”

“Barnabas!”

“I said, get out. You may lower yourself to that level but I refuse to.”

“Barnabas, you could lose everything.”

“Then so be it. I won’t be like you, or Smirke. I’m not easily swayed by pretty eyes and a nice ass.”

-

Barnabas sighed as he stabbed the sewing needle into a pile of scrap fabric. He knew that this was going to happen, but it still bothered him. He hated how petty powerful men were.

For the last two weeks, or well since he rejected the invite to Magnus’s manor, he had seen almost no customers. The occasional widow or societal outcast, but beyond that, nothing. 

What a petty, petty man. 

Rolling his eyes, Barnabas rested his palms on the table and stood up. If no one was going to come today, he might as well close up. As he circled the desk, he stopped when the chime on the door rang. Looking up, he noticed that a woman was standing in his doorway. She looked incredibly high class and Barnabas mentally rolled his eyes. 

This better not be another request from that man. 

“How can I-”

“Is this  _ Bennett’s?”  _ Barnabas nodded. “Excellent. I hoped I would make it before you left for the day.”

“I’m open for a few more hours. What can I help you with?”

“Well,” the woman stepped forward, depositing her hat and jacket on the rack by the door. She looked around for a few moments, nodding to herself, before sitting down in the nearest chair. “I have a...family event within the fortnight and am in need of a new gown. Nothing big and boisterous, just a simple dress, preferably in greys or blues. I can pay upfront for everything and more if it can be done within the week, or close to that.”

Barnabas raised an eyebrow. Realizing he was staring, he shook his head. 

“O-of course. My queue is minimal right now, so I can have it done within a week. I will need to take your measurements some-”

“Now is fine, if you have nothing pressing.” Barnabas shook his head, leading her to the back of his shop. 

“Of course, Madam…?”

“Elizabet Lukas. Lizzy is fine.”

-

“A suit. Grey or blue.”

“Of course, sir. And your name?”

“Frederick Lukas.”

-

“Just an ascot. Dark blue if you have it. My suit is grey.”

“I can have it done within the next two days. It’s for…?”

“Samuel Lukas. My wife, Caroline Lukas, will also be needing a scarf of the same color, if that’s at all possible.”

“It can be done.”

“Excellent.”

-

“A jacket, blue with grey trim. Any trim is fine.”

“I have a selection on hand, if you would like to see them. I can show you after the measurements.”

“Wonderful. It’s for Charlotte Lukas, and I’ll be paying upfront.”

“Of course. Pardon me for prying, but I must ask a question.” The woman nodded and tilted her head.

“Ask away! I’m happy to help if I can!” Barnabas nodded and made a note of Charlotte’s arm length measurement on his notepad.

“I’ve been getting many customers with the last name Lukas recently...you don’t happen to know a Mordechai Lukas, do you?” Charlotte beamed at him in the mirror. 

“Oh! Uncle Mordechai! Yes, yes! He’s the one who told us to come here! One of the stipulations for attending the Lukas family memorial dinner is to have an item made from  _ Bennett’s!  _ He was very serious about it. You can always tell cause he narrows his eyes and his forehead scrunches in!”

Barnabas nodded.

_ He knew that all too well. _

-

Mordechai was quiet as the dead of night as he looked over the slips on his desk. The shipments for this month were doing fine and it looks like if they keep up the way they are going, they might make a bigger profit than projected. Setting the documents aside, he moved an old, heavy ledger that reeked of salt water in front of him. 

_ Lukas Family Tributes _

Thumbing to the most recently used page, he read the note that was jotted down in flowing handwriting.

[William Smith - Dock 13 - Charlotte Lukas - Crowd]

He nodded once at the page, looking through the rest of the entries. With London being busy this time of the year, many of their sacrifices to the Forsaken were done by what some Lukases referred to as “crowd control”. It didn’t matter to him what they called it, as long as it got done. 

“Mordechai.”

A lesser man would have jumped, but Mordechai simply rolled his shoulders and looked up.

The angry eyes of Barnabas Bennett looked back at him. 

He smiled. 

“Hello dear.”

“Oh don’t you ‘dear’ me. I think we both know why I’m here.”

“I don’t like people messing with my family. That includes you, love.” Barnabas sighed and moved around the desk, leaning against it, thigh pressed to Mordechai’s knee. He stared at the man for a moment, eyes slightly shielded behind his glasses before he reached out to tangle their fingers together. He looked at the bookcase in front of him for a few moments before speaking.

“I can take care of myself, you know. I’m prepared to lose everything if I have too.” The hand wrapped in his squeezes a little too tightly for a moment and Barnabas can see fog on the floor. He swallows heavily but knows that it won’t hurt it, that Mordechai won’t hurt him.

“Yes, but you shouldn’t have to. Not because of that man, anyways. I have set up a meeting with him-”

“Mordechai!”

“-to talk about this little mishap. Remind him of his place. He’s not a full avatar yet, he’s still more or less human. Maybe a dip into the Forsaken will clear his head.”

“Mordechai!” There’s a swat to his shoulder and he just smiles innocently up at Barnabas. The man groans and hangs his head. “I can’t stop you, can I?”

“Hmm...no. You should be lucky it’s me. Several of the family wanted his head immediately. I think Charlotte and Caroline were about to storm his manor and take him out to the docks.”

“I’ve met Charlotte and the thought of that scares me…” Mordechai chuckled and pulled Barnabas onto his lap. 

“As it should. No one messes with our family, love.”

“I’m not…”

There’s a press of lips to his forehead, his nose, his cheeks. 

“Just because I can’t marry you doesn’t mean you aren’t a part of my family. You are it for me Barnabas Bennett. Never forget that. Now come, I do believe I need to be fitted for a new suit for the dinner.” Mordechai stands and carries Barnabas to the door, the man yelling at the older man to put him down. Before they make it out of the room, Mordechai has Barnabas up against the wall and peppers his face with more kisses before cutting off Barnabas’s giggles. 

(In the low light of the office, two rings, one on a pinky and one on a thumb, glint brightly.)

(For a moment, Jonah Magnus is forgotten.)

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a random idea I got because I uh...I don't really vibe with the general fandom concept that Barnabas Bennett was a very weak man who was always desperate for Jonah's affection...like you can read his letter that way if you want but I read it a different way. I just...I don't like that trope very much and given we know next to nothing about him I'll just write him how I want. It's been really hard for me to write Barnabas for a while because I've had this whole idea that if I don't write fanon Barnabas what's the point but...I'm just gonna write what I want to write. Simple as that.
> 
> (I do feel bad for him being mean to Fanshawe tho...)
> 
> I'm @sassymordechais on twitter!


End file.
